Tuesday in a press gaggle near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) urged for a “process” to determine if the allegations aimed at Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) had merit.

In the video captured by ABC News, Richmond indicated the “process” would involve the House Ethics Committee, and the ultimate decision was not up to him.

“There are very serious allegations that have been made, and if they are true, then they are awful, and they should have consequences that follow,” Richmond said. “But part of the process is determining that someone has to be the fact-checker and the fact-decision maker in the whole process. And that’s why we urged the congressman to cooperate with the Ethics Committee investigation – because we do need someone to fact-check everything and make a decision on whether these allegations are true.”

“Because if they are true, they are disturbing. But somebody has to make that assessment, and that’s not me,” he continued. “We are elected to represent our districts. Ethics Committee is there to investigate when members are alleged to have done something wrong. And I will urge him again – which he’s already said he would do, which is to cooperate fully with the Ethics [Committee] and we’ll see where that leads us.